


It’s Corona Time!

by Lady_Vader_76 (TricksterxArchangel), TricksterxArchangel



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Ben Solo is a gentleman, Ben Solo is a prince, Ben Solo knows questionable tricks, Chewie is still a walking carpet, Dorks in friendship, F/M, Hoard toilet paper like it’s gold, It’s Corona Time!, Rey is a gamer girl, Rey’s diet is horrifying, Rey’s shopping leaves a bit to be desired, TikTok for Dummies, dorks falling in love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:22:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23335324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TricksterxArchangel/pseuds/Lady_Vader_76, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TricksterxArchangel/pseuds/TricksterxArchangel
Summary: Rey Niima May be a pro at playing disaster games against her friends, however in real-life she’s a bit of a mess.Ben Solo has a nice, quiet life & like a Boy Scout is always prepared.Suddenly it’s Corona time!
Relationships: Rey Niima/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben - Relationship, Reylo
Comments: 7
Kudos: 30





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is dedicated to the Ladies in my ‘Bible Study’ Group Chat on IG. We all chit-chat and thirst over Kylo Ren/Ben Solo/Adam Driver together. 
> 
> It all started when tinybluewitch started reading a certain fic aloud on TikTok Live to beat Coronavirus isolation blues, and now we’re here.
> 
> What started as joke turned into the start of a fic. I hope you enjoy it as much as I am!

——

“Ohhh...no...no...NO!” Rey’s eyes widened in horror when she entered the bathroom. BB8 had been quiet for far too long, and she hadn’t noticed because she’d had her gaming headphones on. She’d been too focused on kicking Finn and Poe’s asses on the new zombie game they’d dragged her into. As a result she now had a bright orange ball of pomeranian fluff sitting in a nest of shredded toilet paper.

“Shit! BB, _why_?!” She implored to the ten week old puppy who simply wagged his entire backside in absolute joy. 

“Frick...BB...there’s nothing open right now, _how could you_?” She scooped the puppy up, cuddling him as she paced through her living room. She’d been cooped up at home for the last three days, this whole Coronavirus thing becoming more serious as each day passed. But in true Rey Niima fashion, she hadn’t stocked up as well as she should have. Oh, sure, she had plenty of puppy food for BB8, and puppy pads and puppy toys. She had frozen pizza, frozen pizza rolls, Bagel Bites, Hot pockets, Pop Tarts and Oreos; Doritos, Cheetos and Pringles. She had Coke Zero, Sunny D and six bottles of wine. Oh, and a case of Corona, because irony.

But that was her last roll of toilet paper. 

_Ben_. Her neighbor across the hall. Ben Solo. She paused to chew her lower lip. They hardly talked to one another, save the stilted conversations they had on occasion in the cramped elevator of their ancient building. Mostly pertaining to the weather. 

Despite hardly talking, Rey observed. Not in a creepy way, just in a casual ‘my neighbor across the hall is handsome; in an objective kind of way’. It was just ‘facts’ as her old college roommate Rose would say. The grass is green, the sky is blue and Ben Solo was conventionally speaking, attractive. 

He also had a 24-pack of toilet paper. She’d been leaving her apartment the other evening to meet Rose as he’d been struggling to open his door, juggling a bag of groceries and the 24-pack of toilet paper. 

Damnit. She was going to have to go across the hall and ask to borrow a roll of TP. She would rather the floor open up and swallow her whole. She sighed, the sooner she did this, the sooner it would be over. She set BB on the sofa & brushed the crumbs off her old MIT sweatshirt. Her gray sweatpants and ancient Ugg boots would have to suffice, after all, it was nearly midnight on a Thursday night. Holy Hell, she hoped he was still awake. 

Unfortunately for her, it wasn’t like the building was huge, she was out her front door and standing in front of his before she blinked twice. She swallowed, leaning forward to press her ear to his door. As if she could discern weather or not he was still awake. It sounded like maybe she could hear something…? Music maybe, or low talking. God, what if he had a girlfriend or a boyfriend and they were there together? 

She sighed and before she could chicken out she knocked on his door. In all honesty, it was the softest tap in the history of soft taps. To her it felt like she’d knocked with the force of a battering ram. 

——

Inside his apartment Ben looked up from the book he was reading. His iPad was playing a TED Talk he'd already heard, but he liked the ambient sound so he let it play quietly. Somehow, under that he heard a tap at his door. Or at least he _thought_ he had. He could have been wrong, because it certainly didn’t repeat itself, so it couldn’t have been a knock, could it? Still, he was intrigued now so he picked up Chewie, the giant Maine Coon that was asleep on his lap and set him on the sofa before standing. Chewie glared at him before jumping down and heading towards his bedroom. Ben groaned, the walking carpet was likely headed straight for his pillow to shed all over it. Great.

Still, the door. He headed over and didn’t bother with the peephole, it was too low down for him anyway. He paused to undo the locks and opened his door to find his across the hall neighbor frantically trying to open her front door. 

“ _Damnit, BB! Shush! Honestly, stop it, it’s just me_!” She was hissing through the door. Ben could hear excited puppy barks coming from behind the door. 

He cleared his throat, an eyebrow raising. “Miss. Niima…? Uh...can I help you?”

Rey’s shoulders slumped in defeat, her back to him even as her face burned crimson. Shit. Slowly she turned, her eyes glued to the floor. 

Her confession came out in a jumbled rush, “I was playing Zombie Defense Squad III with my friends and had my headphones on (she hadn’t even realized they still hung around her neck), and I hadn’t realized how quiet my puppy was. Until I went to the bathroom and found him in a nest of toilet paper and I don’t have any more, and I thought you had some and I was going to ask to borrow a roll until I could get to the shops tomorrow. But I didn’t want to bother you, so I sort of chickened out and I just realized I locked myself out.” She slowly looked up, at him. Damnit, even at 11:45pm Ben Solo still looked presentably put together. No ratty sweatpants for him, _no_. He was in a pair of comfortable looking, but presentable jeans, a black knit sweater and shearling moccasin slippers. 

Behind his glasses his eyes widened, “There’s a Zombie Defense Squad One and Two?” He asked, fighting the urge to laugh at how miserable she looked, though his eyes crinkled a little.

At that, she seemed to relax. “They’re pretty lame, but, yeah; they do. And I kicked my friend’s asses on those too, so I don’t know why they wanted to play III with me, but here we are.” She shrugged helplessly. “I don’t suppose I could borrow your phone to call Maz? She’s going to kill me for calling so late, but I need a key and she’s closer than my BFF.” 

Maz Kanata was the owner of the building and she lived on the top floor. She of course had a master key, but it was for emergency purposes only. The fifth time in a month that Rey had locked herself out, she’d given Rey a second key to give to her best friend and good-naturedly told the girl there would be a charge of one donut and a cup of coffee from the bakery across the street every time she asked for her door to be opened. Rey owed her about a dozen donuts in the past six months. 

Ben fought back a chuckle, the edges of his mouth quirking slightly. “How about I just open your door for you?” His head tilted to the side, as he regarded her.

Rey looked surprised, “Are our keys the same?” She asked in genuine wonder, clearly surprised and maybe a little horrified, what kind of building was she living in?!

This time he did chuckle. “No, but I happen to know how to pick locks, and after owing Maz more donuts than I cared to, I just started doing that.” Her shocked expression further amused him. “I promise, I’ll pay to have a new, unpickable lock put on your door after this; if you’re worried about it.” He grinned.

She shook her head, “No, no; that’s fine; I’m just surprised you know how to pick a lock you—-“ She clamped her mouth shut as she blushed.

He grinned as he turned to head back into his apartment, grabbing his wallet off the table by his front door. “My Dad taught me, said a man should always know a few questionable skills, among them, picking a simple lock. And I hate to break it to you, but these are fairly simple locks.” He shrugged as he hunkered down in front of her door. He opened his wallet and pulled out a couple small tools, she stood behind him, trying to watch but his giant bulk hid most of what he was doing. Behind the door BB was going wild, the excitement too much for his little doggie brain. Not even two minutes later and the door opened with a ‘click’, BB came tearing out, bouncing off of Ben’s shins and nearly hopping to Rey who scooped him up and started shushing him. 

“BB, shush, really, that’s enough!” She hissed, her face red with embarrassment. Thankfully the puppy began to calm, looking over at Ben with doggie adoration in his face. 

Ben stood, slipping the picks back into his wallet and studiously ignoring Rey for a moment. The hall was small and he felt like he took up far too much of it. “So uh, that toilet paper, right?” He asked, a little awkwardly. 

She startled slightly, “Oh, gosh, yes; that would be great, you know, if you could spare some?” She chewed her lower lip.

He smiled and nodded, “Sure, just a moment…” and he turned, escaping into his apartment. He tossed his wallet aside and went into the bedroom, the toilet paper was in there along with some other things that were actually meant for his Parents. He was planning to drive to Connecticut on Saturday and drop it off for them. But he figured he could spare a roll for the damsel in distress across the hall. He opened the package and grabbed one individually-wrapped roll and started back towards the door, his eyes catching his reflection in the mirror over his dresser. He groaned, _Oh my god, I’m wearing this sweater_?! His eyes zeroed in on the tiny row of neat, red stitches that fixed a small hole in the torso. Another skill Han had taught him, how to mend clothes; because God knew Leia couldn’t do it. Oh well, it was too late now. 

The little puppy in her arms was calm and looked blissfully happy to be held when he returned handing the precious cargo over. “Here you go, Miss. Niima, this should tide you over.” He smiled.

Holding BB in one arm she took the roll from him. “Rey.” She smiled softly, “Please, I’m just Rey. And thank you for opening my door, I really appreciate it.”

His smile melted into a grin, “Rey.” He nodded, testing her name on his lips. “Yeah, it’s no problem…” He stood there, just looking down at her, her oversized comfy clothes, headset on her shoulders and hair in two haphazard buns. She looked adorable and he relished the opportunity to really study her for once. Still the moment was broken when a voice squaked from her headset.

“Oh! I need to get back, Finn asked for a rematch once Poe left for work, he’s an EMT, so he’s up all night…” She shrugged, looking a little bummed that she had to go back in.

He smiled softly, nodding; “Sure, no problem. Don’t play nice and let him win, kick his a—- butt…” He blushed a little, turning to return to his apartment.

She giggled, nodding. “Don’t worry. I never play video games ‘nice’, I play to win. Thanks again…” She gave an awkward wave while holding BB and headed back into her apartment, her door closing softly with a click.

Ben chuckled, he had a feeling Rey Niima was a force unto her own. Whoever this ‘Finn’ was, he was about to get wrecked.


	2. Friday

Friday passed relatively slowly for Ben. He had a manuscript from a new author he was editing so he spent the majority of his morning sitting at his desk. He was beginning to wonder how they had even managed to get their work in the door, their fact-checking was atrocious. While he wasn’t going to fix all the mistakes himself, he did feel compelled to start a file of what was wrong so he’d have something concise to hand into his Mother. If he had his way about it, they’d be writing this author off. RebelVets Publishing didn’t need to have their name connected to someone who couldn’t get their facts straight. 

It was 12:30p when his phone actually started to ring, and he was surprised to see Armitage Hux’s name come up on his screen, until he remembered it was the second Friday of the month. 

“Shit!” He grabbed the phone up, pressing the answer button and bringing it to his ear. “Hux, I’m sorry, I’m late, aren’t I?” 

There was a dry chuckle on the other end of the line, “ _Captain_ Solo, so nice to hear your voice and know you’re still alive.”

Ben groaned, taking his glasses off and leaning back in his chair. “Seriously, just because I outranked you this time doesn’t mean I want to hear you say that every time you call. I’m not as pompous as you, _Armie_.” 

“Fuck you, Solo; you know how I feel about that name.” There was no malice in his voice, just resigned acceptance. 

“I missed our lunch didn’t I?” Tossing his glasses on the desk, he scrubbed his free hand over his face. “I’m working on an edit and it’s so awful I can’t look away, I forgot what time it was.” 

Hux grunted, “It’s no bother, today. Things are getting crazy out there as this virus keeps coming. I was stuck at Sam’s Club with the Hoi Polloi, trying to get things for Mum. People are starting to go crazy.” 

Ben nodded even though Hux couldn’t see him. “Yeah, I happened to get some stuff the other day, I’m going to drive to Mom and Dad’s tomorrow morning and drop it off.” He remembered his visitor from last night and chuckled. “Of course, I’m already missing a roll of toilet paper because my neighbor across the hall needed to borrow some last night.”

There was the sound of the trunk of a car closing, a shopping cart crashing into a corral and then a car door opening and closing. Finally Hux’s voice came through a little clearer once his car was on and phone was routing through his Bluetooth. “The Girl?” His British accent drawing it out into “The Giiiiiirl?” 

Ben rolled his eyes, standing and walking to his kitchen. “The _young lady_ , Miss. Niima.” He put his phone on speaker and set it down as he began to pull ingredients out to make a sandwich. 

“Ho-ho...so very _formal_ , Sir. I take it she still doesn’t know your name?” 

“I’ve told you before, she knows my name, we’ve spoken on occasion, in the elevator.” He made a face as he thought back to last night, he hadn’t offered his name which was rude of him, shit. “ _Anyway_ , it seems she’d been playing video games and hadn’t noticed her puppy demolishing her last roll. I wouldn’t have seen her at all, she knocked so quietly, but she then ended up locked out.” He chuckled softly as he dropped two slices of bread into the toaster.

At this Hux did laugh, “Let me guess, you picked her lock for her?” 

Ben blushed thankful that they weren’t on FaceTime even as he laughed. “Yeah, she was surprised I knew how, apparently I look pretty respectable now, who knew?” 

Hux sighed, “You’re not the jarhead kid you were when you enlisted all those years ago. You’re a respectable _Officer_ now. She wasn’t weirded out you knew how to pick her lock?” 

Before Ben could answer he heard horns honking and Hux yelled to the driver in front of him that couldn’t hear as he called him a wanker of a bastard who had his thumbs up his arse. “Nah, told her Dad taught me how, which wasn’t a lie, Dad _did_ teach me. I just got better in other places.” His bread popped out of the toaster & he began to spread mayo on it and assemble a BLT.

“Ever the honest Boy Scout. You kill me, Solo, you really do. Still, I hate to make you look even _more_ like a Boy Scout, but if her lock was that easy to pick, you might want to run to the hardware store and pick up a secondary lock for her, like yours. If you haven’t thought of it already, and I know you; you’d never forgive yourself if something happened now that she knows her lock is that easy to pick. Because clearly her across the hall neighbor is a bloody creeper.” 

Ben chuckled, “Yeah, I’d already thought of that, but thanks.” After assembling his sandwich, he put the extra food away, grabbed a bottle of water from his fridge & took everything to the small kitchen table to eat. 

“What? That her across the hall neighbor is a creeper? Or that you should gift her a new lock?” Droll amusement dripped from Hux’s voice. 

“You’re an ass, why am I friends with you again?” Ben asked.

“Because I needed someone bigger and badder than myself to protect me in Boot Camp. Being the ginger I am, I threatened to take your soul if you didn’t comply.” He replies in a serious tone.

“Oh yeah, that’s right, how could I forget?” Ben chuckled before taking a sip of water. “You hear anything about the Unit being called up for anything yet? Or we still pretty quiet?” 

“Still quiet, and I would expect to stay that way, for the time being anyway. Not much use for us yet, I should think. Though an Engineer Battalion could come in useful as this progresses. Things are just starting to get warmed up. But I’ll probably talk to Gewn tonight, she’s just back from D.C., she might have some insight.” 

“Sounds good. Let me know if you hear anything.” Ben got up from the table, taking his plate to the sink. “I’m going to head out to the hardware store.” 

“Will do, Captain.” This time there was no sarcasm in his voice and he hung up before Ben could reply.

——

After washing and drying his plate, Ben grabbed his coat & wallet and headed out. One of the things he loved about living in Boston was the ability to walk almost everywhere. Even though it was March, it was still fairly cold. Not to mention, depending on where you were in the city, the buildings acted as wind tunnels; making it feel even colder.

His hands in his pockets, he headed to his favorite hardware store. It wasn’t a big box place, it was a family-run store that had been open since the 1950’s. It reminded him of a shop Han used to take him to when he was little, when Leia needed the two of them to be out from under her feet for a few hours. Han would take him and they would wander up and down every aisle, sometimes coming home with an odd tool or two to mess around with in the garage. It was better than any trip to a toy store.

There was no time to idly browse every aisle, he headed straight to where the household door knobs and locks were. Despite being an older, family run business, they carried the latest models of everything. Ben studied several different inner door locks. From old school slide chain locks to more modern ones he kept going to back to a whole new door knob & lock system. It eliminated the need for a key altogether which could be helpful for Miss. Niima, it sounded like she had a habit of locking herself out. All she would have to do was memorize a set of numbers that she could program herself. He picked out the model he thought was best, then he did take the time to wander a couple of the aisles. Finding nothing else that he needed, he paid for the knob and lock system, then headed back out. 

He continued through the streets, stopping at a bakery that carried bagels that he knew Maz loved. He picked up half a dozen of her favorites along with lox. He also picked up three cupcakes for Rey. Not knowing what she liked he picked up a chocolate cake/chocolate frosted one, a vanilla/vanilla one and a vanilla cake with chocolate frosting. 

Once back at their building he went up to Maz’s floor. Thankfully the eccentric woman was more grateful that the problem of her wayward tenant would be taken care of, than the fact that Ben would be altering a door in her building. She still happily took the bagels and lox. She also informed Ben to take $50.00 off his next months rent, since he would be doing her a favor and putting in a new door knob and keyless lock for one of the tenants in her building. Ben of course argued that that wasn’t necessary and they went back and forth for a bit as they each had a bagel with fresh lox. 

——

It was 3p when Ben returned to his apartment. He left the door knob/lock on the table by his front door and put the box of cupcakes in his fridge. He took out a bottle of water and returned to his desk in his living room to work on the awful manuscript for the next hour. He generally adhered to a fairly formal work schedule, even though he worked from home. Today had been an anomaly, but he’d felt like going out to get the lock had been important. 

Still, he was thankful when 4p rolled around and he could put the crappy manuscript aside for the weekend. He wandered into his kitchen, debating what to make for dinner as well as debating on checking in on Rey. 

He didn’t want to seem like a creeper, especially considering he was (sort of) gifting her a brand new door and lock. Plus, was it going to look weird that he’d already gone to their Landlord about it? Shit, clearly he hadn’t thought this completely out. He ran a hand over his jaw. Still, Hux seemed to think it wise, and Hux was generally a pretty straight laced kind of guy. Not that Ben was in any way ‘flighty’, but he did tend to be the more emotional one. 

Still, maybe he should give it another day. See if she made any kind of move first. Not that there were any moves to make. They were just neighbors. Really. Yeah. That’s what he’d do. It was a Friday afternoon, the world was starting to go insane over a virus; she didn’t need him suddenly showing up with a lock and a box of cupcakes...shit, that was super weird of him. Yeah, he’d just take them to his parent’s house tomorrow. If nothing else, Han would scarf them down. Preferably without Leia being any wiser for it. He’d be back from Hartford in the afternoon, he could check up on her then. That would be an acceptable time frame. 

Nodding to himself he removed ingredients from his fridge to make fresh Alfredo sauce. He had some grilled chicken breast he could dice up & broccoli to use before it was past its prime.

Having heard the fridge opening and closing, Chewie had padded in, meowing and rubbing against Ben’s ankles. “Hey Chewie, you ready for your dinner?” He rubbed the giant cat’s ears, smiling at the low, rumbling purr. Chewie always had a bowl of dry kibble that he could snack on throughout the day; but he also got a little dish of wet food in the evening. And even though he shouldn’t, Ben would probably give him a couple bites of chicken. Chewie had been in the Solo family for eight years, the last three exclusively with Ben; he couldn’t help it if he spoiled his furry little brother occasionally. 

“How about we put that Revolutionary War documentary on & listen to it, huh?” Ben asked as he set the dish down for Chewie who began to eat with gusto. Once the History Channel was on in the background, Ben returned to the kitchen and began to cook. It felt good to have a clear set of plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoi Polloi: hoi pol·loi  
> /ˌhoi pəˈloi/  
> nounDEROGATORY  
> plural noun: hoi polloi  
> the masses; the common people.  
> "avoid mixing with the hoi polloi"
> 
> Thanks to all my TikTok/IG Bible Study Group for support and advice! But these three were of particular help to me today!  
> @maiihemm  
> @watermelandrea17  
> @kauliberry <—- This gal is my Kaydel inspiration, you’ll understand why eventually!


	3. Friday From a Different Point of View

After the ‘excitement’ of Thursday night, Rey ended up sleeping in until almost 10am on Friday morning. Once she was up and showered for the day she clipped BB8’s leash to his little harness and they headed out. She’d stopped at her favorite little bakery across the street and got her usual breakfast of a chocolate croissant and hot caramel coffee. 

She then stopped into the local market to buy toilet paper...and found none. Not being too concerned (it was a small shop after all), she continued on her way to the building where Rose worked. It was a good hike there, ensuring BB8 got his exercise in, and she stopped at every market on the way. Nothing. They were all sold out. What the Hell was going on? Had the world lost its collective mind? It was only when she reached Rose’s building that she realized it was Friday the 13th, so maybe that accounted for it? She scooped BB8 up, putting him in her oversized tote bag and headed up to Rose’s office. 

Rose was standing at a drafting table that was beside the one large window. The view wasn’t anything spectacular, just other office buildings, but the light was decent. “Hey, girl; how’s it going?” She didn’t look up from the equation she was working on.

“You always know it’s me.” Rey flopped into the extra chair in one corner of the office. 

“‘Course I do, we lived together for how long? I don’t forget the sounds of my most favorite roommate.” She finished her equation and then took the scrap of paper back to her desk with her computer and then began to input it so the computer could double-check her work. Finally she sat back as the computer began its work, she fixed Rey with a look. “So, you finally went over to His Hotness’ apartment last night, huh? About time.” She smirked.

Rey looked appalled, “That’s what you took from that string of frantic texts?! Jesus, Rose. I _knocked_ on his bloody door, because I apparently thought 11:44 pm on a Thursday night was a good time to beg for a roll of toilet paper.” 

BB8 decided this was a good time to pop his head up and look around. “No thanks to you.” Rey grumbled, petting his ears affectionately. “Anyway, I’d decided to just take my chances until this morning, except apparently I’d forgotten to unlock my door, and then ended up locked out.” She sounded miserable.

Rose laughed, glancing at her computer, it was still working so she turned back to Rey. “Maz must have been irate when you went to her door.” She smirked. “I’m surprised you didn’t call me, how many dozen donuts do you owe her?” 

Rey flushed, “I didn’t have to, Ben unlocked my door.” She said quietly. 

“I mean really, it must be like what, two, two and a half—-WAIT! _Ben_ unlocked your door?! Is he some kind of building creep with a Master Key?!” Rose’s eyes glittered with fury.

Rey laughed, delighted at her friend’s concern. “No! No! Nothing like that...actually, it’s going to make you feel worse…” She giggled, “But he picked my lock open.” She laughed harder at Rose’s horrified expression. 

“Yeah, you’re right, I feel _worse_. Rey, that’s just—“

“Rose, it’s _okay_.” She held her palm out as if to stop Rose. “He was really sweet about it. And I _know_ you’re going to say that’s what all serial killers want you to think...but really...I talked to Maz this morning about it, to let her know, in case anything was wrong with my door. Maz just laughed and said he was an overgrown Boy Scout. Apparently he’s a Captain in the Marines, so that’s why I’ve seen him in uniform a few times. He’s okay, and Maz was fine about the door. She said he used to pick his own lock when he first moved in.”

Rose looked far from relieved. “Rey, I don’t like this, one bit...why don’t you come move in with me? I have plenty of room for you, you know I adore BB…?” It wasn’t the first time she’d tried to convince Rey to live with her.

“Rose, no; I’m _fine_. I like my apartment, okay? I’m fine, I do work that I enjoy and I get to play video games a lot, sometimes people even _pay me_ to play video games.” She grinned.

Rose groaned, “That’s Poe and Finn’s fault. They had no business trying to turn you into some sort of streaming gamer girl.” She rolled her eyes.

Rey laughed, “You think I didn’t know about streaming before them? How do you think I got good enough to beat them in the first place? I’ve been on Twich a lot longer than them.” She smirked. 

Despite herself, Rose smirked, they’re so pissed they can’t beat you anymore. Why they ever thought they could in the first place...I’m still not convinced you let them win for months just to get them to let their guards down…” 

Rey smirked, “I’ll never tell. Anyway, change of subject, can you tell me why the Hell every shop between my building and here is out of toilet paper? I need to buy some so that I simply have some of my own, but I’d also like to give Ben some, since he did save my arse, quite literally last night.” 

Rose snorted, “Girl, have you _not_ been paying attention to the news…?” She shook her head, “Of course you haven’t. You _do_ know about that virus that’s been making its way around the world, _right_?” She sat back in her chair, watching her friend.

Rey made a face, “You know, I may have the reputation of being pretty scatterbrained, but I do pay attention to more than just video games & take-away menus. Yes, of course I’ve been paying attention to the Coronavirus mess, COVID-19? I’m not a complete disaster. I’m just not understanding how it’s gone from suggesting that you have a two week supply of food and other necessary items equates to people buying toilet paper like it’s the end of the bloody world. How much toilet paper are they using at one time?” Her expression was mildly annoyed.

Rose’s expression softened, she knew Rey was _a lot_ smarter than she appeared. It was mostly a defense mechanism on her part, she’d had a not-so-pleasant childhood and had learned from a young age it was better to be underestimated; that way you always held all the cards. It allowed her to interact with people on her own terms. “Sunshine, you _know_ I know how brilliant you are. You were a far better student than I was, you should be behind this desk, not me.” She said gently. “But you’re right, people don’t need to be buying toilet paper in bulk, but people are suddenly thinking with their sheep brains, and not their smart, critical thinking brains. So I don’t know what to tell you.” She shrugged, “Have you checked Amazon?”

Rey shook her head, her expression brightening, “No, I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of that!” She pulled her phone out and began to search the Amazon app. Her expression darkened. “Bloody Hell, at least a week.” She clicked through a couple of screens. “Still, beggars can’t be choosers.” She shrugged. She ordered a 24 pack that would last her for close to half a year. 

Rose nodded, “I can bring you some tonight if you need it.”

“I should be fine, I’m not wasting what Ben gave me. But I’ll let you know if I run out before this gets to me. I appreciate your offer.”

Rose nodded, “Just let me know. You want me to stop by tonight? I can bring dinner.” She said, her expression bright.

Rey grinned, “If you don’t have anything better to do, you know I always love having you over.” 

Rose grinned, ”Okay, I’ll be over between 5:30 pm and 6.” 

Rey got up, adjusting BB8 in the bag so he didn’t fall over. “I’ll be there. I’m going to check out a couple of shops and then head home, do you want me to pick anything up?”

Rose clearly thought for a few minutes before shaking her head no. “No, I have some ingredients at home that could be used up, so I’ll just bring them over. You still have the spices and whatnot that I stocked up on, right?” 

Rey chuckled and nodded, “Of course I do. You’re the only one who uses them.” 

Rose laughed, “Okay, see you later!” She turned back to her computer just as it was pinging to let her know her equation was done. 

Rey smiled as she saw herself out, once Rose’s attention was back on her computer, it was like Rey had never been there. 

Once back outside Rey set BB8 back on the ground and they continued their walk. They visited several more stores until Rey finally found the last four-pack of toilet paper in a Target that she knew was wildly overpriced, still beggars couldn’t be choosers so she bought it. At least she had something to give to Ben. 

When she got back to their building, she got her courage up to knock on his door, but after a couple of minutes she had to assume he wasn’t home. She didn’t think much of it, he was probably still at work, it wasn’t even 3pm yet. So she headed in to do a bit of cleaning before Rose would be over. 

——

It was 4:15 pm the next time Rey pauses to look at a clock. She’d just finished wiping down her counters, the last of her tidying. She grabbed her jacket & BB’s leash, snapping it on the bouncing puppy to take him out to do his business. On her way back in, she noticed the mail had come, and after unlocking her little box she noticed the one beside hers was ajar. _Ben Solo_ written clearly in beautiful penmanship. She looked around, unsure what to do. She couldn’t lock his box, only her own, and there _was_ mail in it, including a small bubble envelope which seemed to be what caused the door to pop back open. Looking around again, and feeling like she was breaking the law she grabbed his mail and headed up to their floor. Juggling her mail & BB’s leash in one hand, trying to wrangle the puppy who was sniffing enthusiastically at Ben’s door; and Ben’s mail in the other she knocked awkwardly. 

“BB, really, could you _not_? You really have no idea what a tripping hazard you are, do you—-?” She hissed quietly, stumbling back a little as the sound of locks being unlocked came from behind the door.

“Hello, Miss. Niima; is everything okay?” He couldn’t help the smile the broke across his face. “Have you locked yourself out again?” He leaned against the open door, looking down at her. She looked adorable, arms full of mail and a package, her dog’s leash twisting around her lower legs and her face flushed pink, likely from just having taken her dog out.

Her flush deepened and she looked down, clearly slightly embarrassed. “Oh no, I have my keys this time, I promise...BB...honestly, stop pulling you little orange menace, you don’t live in there…” She tried hopping back a little to pull the straining pup out of Ben’s doorway.

Ben chuckled, kneeling down to pick up BB8. “Here, let go of his leash, I have him, that should take some of the strain off.” Carefully he unwound the leash from Rey and held the wriggling puppy. “It’s fine, I’m sure he smells my cat…” He lifted BB up, turning him so the puppy was facing just him. “Who is twice your size, little man, so do beware.” He chuckled, giving BB a little bounce before cuddling him against his chest, petting his ears. 

BB had the most contented look on his face. Rey surmised if Ben Solo had been holding her & brushing her hair she’d be happy too. Her blush deepened at that thought and she cleared her throat. “Oh uh, well actually I was getting my mail; and I noticed your mailbox was open.” She gestured to his mail in her arms, “Seeing as you had a package, I figured you wouldn’t want it just hanging out like that…?” She trailed off into what felt like an awkward question.

He finally tore his eyes away from her animated face to look down at the mail she was, indeed holding. “Oh! Uh, yeah, thank you.” He held BB in one large hand, easily taking his mail in the other. “Thanks, I really appreciate it.” He glanced at the small package. “Oh, it’s Chewie’s medicine, so that’s good, and thanks for not letting it sit down there. I mean, it’s for kitty diabetes, so I don’t know why any sane person would want it...but you never know…” He smiled, his cheeks going faintly pink. He turned to set the mail down on the side table and saw the door knob and lock set, his cheeks flushed darker. 

“So, um I hope I’m not being too bold here; especially since I already talked to Maz…” He ran a nervous hand through his hair, and Rey was transfixed at how fluffy and full it was. “But I uh, well I got you a new door knob and lock set. It’s keyless, so you can create your own code for it and you’ll never lock yourself out again. I figured you might be uncomfortable knowing I could pick your lock any time I wanted...shit...that came out all wrong…” He rubbed his hand over his face, clearly flustered.

Rey came to his rescue, chuckling, clearly amused. “Oh Ben, honestly, it’s fine; I knew what you meant, and honestly, I appreciate the gesture.”

Ben’s eyes widened adorably at the sound of his name coming from her lips. Thankfully she didn’t seem to notice.

“Thank you. As you can see, I’m clearly a bit of a walking disaster.” 

Her self-deprecating tone and expression didn’t sit well with Ben, he got the feeling she’d been fed that line until she believed it herself.

“But yes, that would be lovely; I’m actually quite good with numbers.” There was a bit of pride in her voice. 

Ben smiled, “Oh, okay, good then...I was planning on going to see my parents tomorrow morning, but if you’ll be home in the afternoon, I’d be more than happy to put it in then?” He continued to absently pet BB who was sound asleep in his arm.

Rey smiled widely, nodding enthusiastically. “That should be fine! I was thinking of streaming tomorrow afternoon, so I don’t have any concrete plans.”

“Streaming?” He couldn’t help asking, his tone clearly confused.

“Oh! Yeah, sometimes I play video games live & put it up on-line for other people to watch.” She blushed.

Ben still looked slightly confused but he nodded, “I can come over after you’re done if that would be better…?” He suddenly felt much older than his thirty-six years. 

“Oh no! It’s fine, I haven’t set any games up or anything. And I’d rather help you if you need it or anything…” She flushed, suddenly a little shy. 

“Okay, how about I plan to come over around 3 pm? I should be out of your hair within an hour. Then you can get back to your life.” He smiled.

“Oh, it’s fine! In fact...if you don’t have any plans or anything, let me make you dinner tomorrow?” She asked, her voice suddenly softer, shyer.

Ben smiled, his eyes lighting up. He wanted to say ‘Yes!’ agree readily, but he didn’t want to pressure her. “Oh, Miss. Niima—“

“Rey.” She said, her voice firm. “Please call me ‘Rey’.” She swallowed nervously. “Honestly, it’s the least I can do. You’ve done me a huge favor, I can just put it in a dish for you to take home if you’d rather…” She trailed off, suddenly unsure if he just didn’t want to spend time with her.

“No, Rey; I’d love to stay for dinner, thank you.” He smiled gently, wanting to put her at ease. 

Her smile lit up the entire hallway, Ben felt like he was in a sunflower field in the middle of summer. “Oh! That’s wonderful!” She gave a little bounce, “Is there anything you really hate?! Or are allergic to?” She asked.

Ben chuckled, “No and no. Surprise me Rey.” He grinned.

“Okay! I will! It’s a date!” She blushed deep red and turned as nimble as a dancer to her door and opening it. “I mean, you know, for the door...and yeah, um thank you!” She scooted into her apartment, all but slamming her door.

Ben looked down at BB8, still in his arms. “I’m afraid you can’t spend the night little guy, I don’t have the proper food—-“ He was just about to cross the hall to knock on Rey’s door when it flew open and she crossed the hall back to Ben.

“Yeah, m’dog; I don’t generally forget him. Sorry ‘bout that.” Her blush went from the neckline of her shirt to the roots of her hair and the tips of her ears. She held her arms out for BB.

Ben chuckled softly, “Don’t worry about it, he was comfy.” He gave a little shrug as he gently placed the dozing pup in her arms. 

She nodded, “Thanks, and um, I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon.” She smiled shyly up at Ben before once more disappearing behind her door. 

Once Ben heard her lock clicking into place, he retreated back into his own apartment. He smiled remembering the cupcakes in his fridge, he’d take them over tomorrow afternoon. Was it really a date? Or was it simply neighbors being neighborly? Only time would tell, he supposed.


End file.
